Lime releases their dockless electric scooters during a press conference on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in South Bend, Ind.

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1 week ago

Family to Sue After E-Scooter Accident Leaves Woman in Coma

Newser — Rob Quinn

The family of a Fort Lauderdale woman who has been in a coma since a Dec. 28 electric scooter crash says the accident happened because she was misled by the rental company and they plan to sue.

Ashanti Jordan, a 27-year-old security guard at Broward Health Medical Center, suffered a fractured skull after colliding with a car while riding the Lime scooter, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

Attorney Todd Falzone says the Lime app and writing on the scooter itself warn against riding it on the sidewalk—but state law bans riding electric scooters on streets and they are only allowed on sidewalks in Fort Lauderdale.

"Lime is telling these riders to break the law," he says. "They’re telling them don’t ride on the sidewalks and then, as a result, these poor folks are in the middle of traffic."

Jordan suffered a fractured skull and severe head trauma after the crash threw her about 100 feet, Local 10 reports.

Her family fears she may not survive. "I just can’t even stand to see those scooters. It’s so traumatizing at this moment," says mother Tracy Jordan.

The dockless electric scooters arrived in the Florida city and authorities say there have already been more than 31 accidents that required a hospitalization, including four "Level 1" traumas.

Lime scooters have been involved in at least three other fatal accidents in other cities in recent weeks, including a Feb. 1 crash in Austin, Texas, that killed a 21-year-old exchange student from Ireland, reports the Washington Post.